Custom GTS 250 backplate

[Morfy]

Hello guys, i was getting bored the other day so thought to myself, what would make my build look even baller/more beast. And the answer was a couple of backplates for the GTX 660 and the GTS 250. Of course i'll start with the 250, won't do much of a damage if i break it.

I started with a 1mm sheet of aluminium, cut that to lenght:

Drilling the first holes:

All the holes are drilled, and for the heat to rise to the all-mighty GTX 660:

All the filing and sanding has been done, just need to sand the other part too and laser carve it to make it custom and more mine that it already is:

I need to find a nice colour to match my build which is blue/black with white accents and LEDs, so i was thinking glossy white/blue, matte blue/black or dyed black/light blue to see the brushed aluminium finish, what do you guys think?

[joelthezombie15]

looks pretty cool wish i could do that kinda stuff and not be scared of messing up. i have the skills but i always chicken out 

[orangecat]

I used to have a old 250GTS then I gave it to my brothers to replace their 8500GT and when i took it off the fan fell out and it was encrusted in dust.

[iisshaun]

Awesome stuff, it never crossed my mind until a week or so ago that you could do custom backplates. Such a simple and tidy thing you can do yourself. I got the Asus 7970 DirectCUII because the thing was massive and awesome looking and has that slick backplate.

[Morfy]

Good for you, unfortunately, there are no GTX 660 backplates out there (of which i know) and i'm not going to start searching for a GTS 250 one, and it will be pricey, so far it costed me 3$, all the other stuff i had in the house, i'll make little to no progress this week because my exams are rolling in so i may be learning (said no student ever).

[Morfy]

Hey guys, made some progress, here are some pics:

 

Here is my mighty GTS 250 for le phisyx, along with a white backplate:

 

And this is the backplate with 3 cold-white LEDs, to give an underglow:

[MzCatieB]

im planning on making my own backplate for my graphics cards on my build... will use acrylic instead of metal

[Morfy]

I would have used acrylic, but materials are basically impossibe to find/get here (Romania damn you), the aluminium sheet i randomly stumbled upon at a garage sale, i know literally no shops to sell this kind of stuff here :| 

[MzCatieB]

I would have used acrylic, but materials are basically impossibe to find/get here (Romania damn you), the aluminium sheet i randomly stumbled upon at a garage sale, i know literally no shops to sell this kind of stuff here :| 

yh aluminium is a tad risky, if the paint isnt done correctly it could cause a short circuit on the PCB that will kill the entire build

[Morfy]

That's why i'm using 6mm plastic risers around the screws :D trust me, i'm an engineer :))

[MzCatieB]

That's why i'm using 6mm plastic risers around the screws :D trust me, i'm an engineer :))

good to know ^-^ im just a game specialist

[Morfy]

Check out nVidia's contest on FB to mod dead island, i think you'll find it pretty interesting: 

http://www.moddb.com/events/dead-island-riptide-scripting-competition

And no, i'm not an engineer, but i can handle putting my designs in action pretty good :D

[Morfy]

Ok the weirdest stuff happened :| my led array is not working, but if i use my multimeter to measure resistance in the LEDs, each one lights up if i inverse the multimeter wires :|. Phisics is messing with me, i've done tons of LED arrays in the past , none gone wrong, this one is stubborn, any suggestions?

[Liradon]

I don't understand anything of electric circuits and stuff, so no, sorry.

 

But I do have another question to ask you:

I am thinking about making my own backplate too, but I can't cut it. So, I was thinking of getting it custom lasercut but I don't know how much that is going to cost.

Knowing that you cut your own backplate, I am very interested in learning how you did this. Do the holes line up perfectly? How did you measure the length for the holes so precisely?

[Morfy]

I don't understand anything of electric circuits and stuff, so no, sorry.

 

But I do have another question to ask you:

I am thinking about making my own backplate too, but I can't cut it. So, I was thinking of getting it custom lasercut but I don't know how much that is going to cost.

Knowing that you cut your own backplate, I am very interested in learning how you did this. Do the holes line up perfectly? How did you measure the length for the holes so precisely?

Hey. This project came to a stop, because i sold that card to get my 2500k, but i found out that that specific LEDs needed more volts through them, so it's all good now, IF you take your time and you are very carefull, with this you can measure your distances perfectly: Also, i cut it with a jigsaw with a fine blade for metal, and sanded it down with 3M sandpaper and some fine files.Just take your time, and be sure to use plastic risers to mount it or you'll cause a short, and that's not what you want, i'm not responsible if you damage your card by doing this, just sayn' :)))

[Liradon]

Hey. This project came to a stop, because i sold that card to get my 2500k, but i found out that that specific LEDs needed more volts through them, so it's all good now, IF you take your time and you are very carefull, with this you can measure your distances perfectly: 

Also, i cut it with a jigsaw with a fine blade for metal, and sanded it down with 3M sandpaper and some fine files.Just take your time, and be sure to use plastic risers to mount it or you'll cause a short, and that's not what you want, i'm not responsible if you damage your card by doing this, just sayn' :)))

ok, thanks for the tips! I'll definetly get one of these! :)

[Akula]

Intresting :)

[Bicko96]

looks pretty cool but it is a little bit risky i would use a lot of heat shrink on those LED'S

[theDesighnerGuy]

nice work ;)  wold like to see  the completed  version installed on the card. ^_^ :rolleyes:

[Morfy]

Haha, me too XD. The problem is that i sold that card right after the last update, so i only have the backplate now, with the working LEDs, they needed more juice.